In food service operations, film and foil are frequently used in large quantities to wrap unused food items including both prepared and raw food products. Given the typical food service environment, it is generally problematic to rely on the large cardboard box in which film and foil are typically packaged because such boxes get wet and dirty and can break down and cause contamination. As a result, over the years, food service users have turned to substitutes that purport to provide improved reliability and cleanliness.
Two examples of such substitutes are shown in U.S. Design Pat. Nos. D396,978 and D347,345. Both of these patents show substantially rectangular cases having hinged lids. U.S. Design Pat. No. D347,345 also shows the use of handles in conjunction with the hinged rectangular box. Other prior art products include the “Safety Wrap” device marketed by The Colman Group, Inc., the assignee of the present application. This product includes additional features such as a static cling strip to keep film in a “ready position,” wall mount ability, retractable plastic blades, plastic construction and optional shelf hanging.
While these aftermarket foil and film dispensers do provide a substantial improvement over the typical film or foil cardboard box, they fail to provide a place for tools and labels frequently required as part of the process of wrapping up and storing unused food items. More particularly, in most food service operations, when unused food items are wrapped and placed back on a shelf, in a refrigerator or in a freezer, they must be marked to indicate the storage date, the destruction date and or the type of food item inside the wrapping. This marking is generally accomplished using markers, rotation labels and/or scissors. Since they cannot be stored with the film or foil, such items are often left out on the counter from which they get lost, dropped, stolen or contaminated. Still further, when labels must be marked, given the general state of counters in food service operations, there may be no “safe” or dry surface on which to mark them.
Another issue with the prior art aftermarket film and foil dispensers is their inability to readily accommodate different size rolls of film or foil. While film and foil can generally be obtained in a standard size that corresponds to the size of a chosen dispenser, other sizes of film and foil are available and may be more appropriate for different types of food products and service requirements. In such cases, users have no choice but to either use standard size film or foil, maintain non-standard sizes in their original cardboard box or purchase multiple size aftermarket dispensers—to the extent they even exist.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved foil and film dispenser that overcomes one or more of the prior art drawbacks.